Improvement in sewing-machines



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

WI Sewing Machine. No. 12,066. Patented Dec. 12, 1854.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2. W. LYON.

Sewing Machine. No. 12,066. I Patented Dec. 12, 1 854.

3 Sheets Sheet 3.

W. LYON. Sewing Machine.

Patented Dec. 12, 1854.

N. PETERS. Pbolo-Litfingmphnr. Wnhingtou. u, n.

of the needle-bar.

UNITED STATES PATENT OF ICE.

WILLIAM LYON, OFNEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO n. snurson, e.

SIMPSON,'B. DODD, AND 0. B. MERRIMAN.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM LYON, of Newark, county of Essex, and Stateof New Jer- Sey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSewingl\Iachines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,

clear, and exact description of the same, referapplied.

At A is the table, upon one end of which is secured a strong overhangingframe, ]3, sup- I porting the needle-carrier and the mechanism foroperating that and the feeding apparatus. This leaves a clear space allround the needle upon the table for working the cloth. All parts are setin motion and propelled from the main shaft 0, suspended in the frame13, the back end being supplied with a crank or pulley for revolving it.At the opposite end, and beyond the journal, there is a wheel from whichthe feed motions are given and the needle bar or carrier worked, as seenat E in the several figures.

At F is the needle-bar, standing in a vertical position immediately infront of the wheel E and on a line with its axis. To keep it in itsvertical position while playing up and down it is supported by twobearings, one being at the top ofthe frame 13 and one below, as shown. Aconnecting-rod, a, fixed to a crank-pin in the wheel E and to anotherpin in the head of the needle-bar, is the means for giving the properreciprocating motion to the latter.

At (1 is a pin extending through the head This performs a twofoldoffice. One is to carry the thread along with the bar as it moves up anddown, and thereby keepit always in proper tension and prevent it fromkinking, and the second use is to operate the feed-clamp and make ithold down the cloth at those times when the regular feeding-fingers areraised to prepare for taking a new hold of the cloth, in the manner nowto be described. as seen at G, having its fulcrum near the middle 011 aprojecting arm, as shown. The bottom terminates in a foot near the topof the table, and the upper end is curved for a distance equal to theplay of the pin d, a spring, 6, always acting to keep that end pressingagainst the said pin. By means of the curve at the top of G a vibratingmotion is imparted to it as the pin d plays up anddown along with theneedle-bar. This vibration causes the foot to rise and fall upon thetable, so that whenever a piece of cloth is placed under. it isalternately clamped or held down and released by every stroke of theneedle-bar. This re-.

leasing and clamping work is alternating with the motion of thefeeding-finger, which also acts as a clamp when down. ment thefeeding-finger begins to push the cloth along the table, which itdoestoward the clamp, the foot of the latter rises and allows the clothto go on.. It then comes down and holds it while the feeding-finger isgoing through its motions preparatory to giving the next feed and whilethe stitch is being taken, as will now be described.' The feeding-fingerhas a peculiar set of motions given it. Inthe first place,'whilepressing ,onthe cloth, it remains stationary for a timei.'e., while theneedle, having passed through the cloth, is returning. It then moveshorizontally the distance for the length of stitch," thus pushing the.

cloth, which is then seizedby the clamp G; at the moment the needle hasentered. It then rises to a position immediately over that firstdescribed, whence it descends vertically upon the cloth again before theneedle has been withdrawn, again to feed, thecloth when the needle hasleft, and so on. The mechanism is as follows:

. H is a rod having one end cranked, the lower end of which terminatesin the feedingfinger at 2'. upward and terminates behind the wheel E, asrepresented at is. under the overhanging frame B, to which it isattached at the vertical post, and it is keptin This clamp is a crookedlever,

Thus the mo- There is a branch which extends The rod lies horizontallyplace and allowed to have free movement in every direction by asocket-and-ball termination. Near the arm 70 is another bearing, being aslot cut vertically in the bracket I, so as to prevent lateral butpermit vertical and ro tary motions.

At Z is a spring, the force of which is directed downward to keep thefinger pressing upon the cloth. To perform the movements beforedescribed,'there are two regulating cams or projections upon the wheelE, which strike upon the arm I; in revolving at the proper times forraising, lowering, and pushing forward the feed-finger. One of theseprojections or studs is upon the inside face of the wheel, as seen at m,and the other projects from the circumference of itshub, as at a, FigureIII. The stud n is so set that in revolving with the shaft 0 it strikesagainst the inner edge of the arm 7., while the other stud, m, strikesagainst its side. The space between them is also such that it strikesfirst. The effect of this is to push the arm away, the rod H being thenan axis, and thus the finger t is moved horizontally, as shown in theduplicate lines, Fig. III. This feeds the cloth along for the stitch.The stud slides along the edge of the arm 7., which is bent into acircular form at this part, as seen in Fig. III, and keeps the finger inplace still upon the cloth until the needle has'entered the cloth. Theother stud now arrives, and, striking against the side of the arm at aninclined bend or bevel, (seen at k,) raises it up, thus lifting the rodH and finger This stud then rides over the bevel, and in its onwardmovement carries thearm back to a position directly over that from whichit was pushed by the stud 01. As the stud clears the end of 7;, thefinger drops and presses upon the cloth as the needle is about .to belifted out, holding it firm close to the thread. The ascent of theneedle-shaft causes the clamp-lever G to vibrate, lifting the clamp fromthe cloth just as the stud a is about to strike the arm I.- and give thefeed, as before described.

I now come to describe the manner of forming the stitch. In the firstplace the end of the thread a must be put through the eyexof the needleand drawn out a short distance along the table and put under the feedingand clamp fingers. Next the thread w must be passed through the hole inthe side of the table, thence under the tightening-rod 1", aroundthe-guide-hook s, and through thehole in the spring-hook I, and the endthen passed up through the needle-hole in the top of the table, andcarried *along under the feeding finger with the other thread. Tofacilitate the passing of this thread through the various places underthe table, and also to enable the operator to examine the machine belowit, a part of the top is cut out to form a sliding or revolving lid, asrepresented in the section at J, Fig. II. This lid joins the permanentpart just along theneedle-hole, so that when it is drawn off it leavesan entrance to said hole by a narrow cut made'in theside of theplate, sothat instead of being obliged to put the end of the thread through, itis passed into the hole by this slot or cut, the movable part of thetable closing it up, and thereby keeping the thread in place. The clothor other material to be worked being now put upon the table and theleading edge placed under the feeding-finger i and the clamp, the sewingwill go on by turning the crank upon the shaft 0.

In order to lengthen or shorten the stitch, it is only necessary toscrew out or in the stud n, for by projecting farther out it increasesthe throw of the feeding-finger i, and, on the contrary, screwing it inlessens that throw. The general operation is as follows The needlehaving been properly adjusted and the thread 10 brought up through theneedle-hole and carried with the other thread under the feedingfinger,the materials to be sewed or ornament: ed are laid upon the table, theoperator sitting on that side of it along which the thread in iscarried, so as to have the right hand free to guide the cloth, whilewith the left the machine is kept in motion. X'Vith a treadle attachedthis latter may be done by the foot; or other power may be employed, andthus free both hands. Care must now be taken to give the right degree oftension to the thread by setting up the pinch-nuts upon the spools. Ittoo much, the thread will break, and if too little the work will bebadly sewed. The materials once under the feed apparatus will be keptgoing on in a straight line; but if curves are to be followed, the handmust guidethe materials in all directions other than straight. This isdone by merely turning the materials around one way or the other, as maybe, and in a manner common to many sewing-machines. The revolution ofthe main shaft puts in vibration the lower shaft, K, which vibrates thespring-hook by means of an eccentric placed upon the upper shaft andconnecting by a rod with an arm on the lower. To increase the grip ofthe finger, a setscrew, 1, pressing upon the spring I, adds to the setor tension of the latter, and thus forces down the finers z.

b Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire by Letters Patent, is

1. The arrangement of the feeding-pieces that is to say, the rod I-I,suspended at one end by a universal joint, so that theunattached end maybe permitted to play vertically, and

also to rock or vibrate as an axis, and having on said unattached end afeeding-finger, i, and arm k in combination with the governingstuds m nupon the wheel E, as set forth.

2. The clamp G, in combination with the needle-bar F, and working inconnection with the feeding-finger, as described.

WM. LYON. NVitn esses:

J. 1. PIRSSON, S. H. MAYNARD.

